


Nyctophobia

by LeDiz



Series: The 48: NCIS [5]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Boredom, Gen, black outs, fear of the dark, security drills
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-07 05:23:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8784778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeDiz/pseuds/LeDiz
Summary: There's a security drill, resulting in Jimmy and Tony being stuck in the morgue in the dark and alone with their thoughts. This is not okay for Jimmy.





	

Jimmy wasn’t sure whether to be reassured or terrified when a passing security guard flashed his torch at Tony and revealed the agent was lying slumped upright against the wall, his eyes closed and his mouth only moving to grimace in annoyance as the light hit his eyes.

“Tony?” he whispered, still unsure of which emotion to be focussed on. “Tony!”

“Mmph. What, Palmer?”

He did sound more asleep than hurt. “Are you okay?”

“We’re under lockdown—not even for a real emergency, but because of a _drill_ —while I just happened to be visiting autopsy, meaning I am now stuck very far away from both my work and anything that might be remotely interesting,” he grumbled. “No, Palmer, I’m not okay. I’m bored out of my freaking mind and not even allowed to get some shut-eye because—” he raised his voice so the security guard had no chance not to hear, even out in the hall. “—I keep getting lights in my eyes!”

Jimmy hesitated, then nodded, looking down at where he was pretty sure his shoes were. With the security lockdown, all the lights had been shut off, along with everything electrical except the refrigeration units. Down here in autopsy, without any outside source of light, it was completely black.

“Why d’you ask?” Tony absently added, and Jimmy shrugged. Honestly, there was no reason Tony wouldn’t be okay, aside from the fact he was Tony and kind of a magnet for trouble, and it was really, really dark and anything could happen in the dark. Anyone could be hiding in the dark. With a two-by-four. Maybe the plank was already arcing back to hit him.

“Palmer?” Tony prompted, just before Jimmy could duck. “Are _you_ okay?”

He shrugged again, and after a moment, Tony sighed. “I’m going to assume you’re making some kind of non-verbal communication thing here, because I’ve never known you to hold your tongue for any reason, even when you should,” he said, bored and rambling. In other circumstances, Jimmy might have lingered on the fact Tony of all people was accusing him of talking too much, but he was kinda scared right now, and Tony clearly wasn’t done. “But the thing is, here, Jimmy, that it’s kinda dark right now, and I can’t see my hand in front of my face, so if we’re gonna do any talking here, you’re gonna have to quit the silent treatment.”

“I’m – I’m – I’m fine,” he stammered, and there was another pause.

“Palmer.”

“Y-yes, Tony?”

“Are you alright?”

“I just said –”

“Palmer!”

It was sharper, this time. Angrier. The tone he associated with Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, Supervisory Field Agent of the Major Case Response Team, NCIS. “Yeah?”

“I have two questions, and I want you to be honest now, okay?”

“Yeah…?”

“Are you in any way responsible for this lockdown?” he asked bluntly, and Jimmy found his head shaking almost compulsively.

“No!”

“Okay then. Then there’s only one reason I can think of for you to be freaked out right now,” he said calmly. “Palmer?”

“Yeah, Tony?”

“Are you afraid of the dark?”

For a long second, he thought about not answering. Maybe, if he didn’t answer, Tony would forget he asked. And then he wouldn’t have to admit it. It’s not like he was really scared of the dark, after all. The dark was fine. It was the cold, everything-closed-in-around-him dark that he didn’t like so much. Still, he didn’t want to tell Tony that, because Tony made fun of McGee for joining a Naval Agency when he got seasick, and so he could only imagine what –

“Palmer, I say this in the nicest way possible, but what the hell kind of right do you have to be an autopsy gremlin when you’re scared of the dark?”

He blinked. “Gremlin?”

“It comes with the territory, you know? You cannot be the creepy guy in the basement with the dead bodies if you’re scared of the dark! It’s just not done, it’s not cliché and has no business existing on this team,” he snapped, and Jimmy paled.

“It doesn’t?”

“No. The NCIS Major Case Response Team needs clichés, Palmer, that’s the only way we function. Grumpy ex-marine with family issues; the irrepressible, immature jock; the feisty sex symbol; the nerdy geek; the eccentric lab tech genius; and the creepy guy in the basement with the dead bodies. You, Palmer, are ruining the cliché if you don’t fit the bill.”

“But I am the creepy guy in the basement!” he protested. “I’m in the basement! I creep people out.”

“No, Palmer. You haven’t creeped us out for months, and you’re not fooling anyone if you’re gonna be scared of the dark,” he said, then sharpened his tone again. “You still listen to Ducky’s stories, right? Because if you’ve taken up listening to an MP3 player during autopsy –”

“I love Doctor Mallard’s stories!” he cried, then suddenly stopped, realising what had happened. He blinked rapidly, wishing he could see Tony’s expression. “H-hey, Tony? Can I ask you something?”

“Putting aside the obvious critique of your grammar, sure,” he said, and Jimmy frowned.

“Are you just saying all this stuff to make me forget to be scared?”

There was a long pause. “That depends.”

“On what?”

“Did it work?”

He hesitated, considering for a second. “Yeah, kinda.”

“Then no, Jimmy, I wasn’t. I was making a definitive comment about your suitability to work here.”

He smiled, shifting until he could feel Tony’s shoe against his thigh. Even though it was still and cool against his leg, it felt oddly comforting. “It’s a character quirk. Like how the nerdy computer geek carries a gun! That doesn’t match the cliché, but Agent McGee’s still on the team.”

“Yeah, but he has good reason. He’s technically a field agent, after all,” he pointed out. “Do you have a good reason to be scared of the dark?”

“Not… really.”

“Ooh, that sounds like a story.”

“Not really,” he repeated. “I think it’s because I watched _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_ and _Young Frankenstein_ when I was little and thought they were real horror movies.”

There was another pause, but this time Jimmy could almost _hear_ Tony grinning at him. “That does explain a lot, Jimmy. Not much about the dark, but it does explain a lot.”

“Yeah,” he agreed thoughtfully, and Tony’s laughter chased back the darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> The 48 are a collection of unfinished and/or pointless fics saved to my hard drive, now posted to Ao3 for people's interest or in case they want to adopt them.
> 
> I got nothin' to add today.


End file.
